Stay With Me
by Destinyjoyxoxo
Summary: Logan finds Quinn outside on the bench late one night, crying and covered in bruises Trigger warning: mentions/references of rape and domestic abuse and vague references to child abuse. Please read with caution


Quinn shivered as she slowly walked back towards her dorm, goosebumps rising over the finger shaped bruises on her arms. She wrapped her arms around her own waist as she made her way down the path. She could feel the mix of dried blood and semen on her inner thighs and it made her wince in pain and disgust with every step she took. She made it halfway to her dorm before she stopped walking and collapsed on the nearest bench, completely drained emotionally and physically. She was glad it was so late at night so she didn't run the risk of anyone seeing her in this state. She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her thighs, her breathing becoming shakier and more erratic as she thought back on what had just happened. Flashes of Mark's angry glare and his fist rising before striking her across her cheek played in her mind and she choked back a sob at the recent memory. She could still feel the harsh grip he had on her arms as he shoved her down on the bed and forced her legs open as he had his way with her. She bit down harshly on her lip to stop herself from crying, knowing she didn't deserve to cry. It was her fault this happened to her anyways. She had provoked Mark and had upset him. She hadn't been good enough. She was never good enough. That wasn't his fault, it was hers. "Quinn? Is that you?"

Quinn froze at the sound of his voice, a voice she'd recognize anywhere. She cursed inwardly when she realized that she had been found, reluctantly lifting her head to look up at him

"What do you want, Logan?" She snapped, not in the mood for his usual teasing and ridicule "Why are you even out this late?"

Logan was frozen in his tracks as he slowly looked her over, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he took in her appearance. She wasn't wearing her glasses so her black eyes were even more apparent and her arms were covered in bruises. He shook his head to himself, clearing his throat softly to get himself together

"Huh? Oh I uh couldn't sleep so I went to play some basketball" he told her as he sat down beside her

"Quinn, what happened? Who did this to you?" He asked, even though he had a pretty good idea of who it was

"No one did anything to me. I tripped and fell down the stairs" she lied unconvincingly, avoiding eye contact with him.

Logan studied her closely, his eyes falling on the bruises on her upper arm. Some were obviously new but he could tell that some were old and fading. He clenched and then unclenched his fists, going through all of the steps he learned in anger management to calm down. He knew that getting angry right now was the last thing Quinn needed.

"How long has Mark been hurting you?" He asked her, keeping his voice as soft as he could.

"Mark doesn't hurt me! He loves me" she said, making her voice as strong as she could. She didn't know who she was trying to convince more with her statement, Logan or herself.

"Does he? Because it really doesn't look like he does" Logan argued, his hand gesturing vaguely towards Quinn's bruises

"Oh, it doesn't? And just what do you know about love?" She sneered

"Nothing" he admitted

"I've never experienced or known any kind of love in my life. But that doesn't mean I don't know what it should look like. And it doesn't look like black eyes, tear streaked cheeks and bruised arms"

Logan saw Quinn's whole body tense at his words before she started trembling, her hands shaking violently as she raked them nervously through her hair, her walls slowly starting to come down.

"He wasn't always like this" she whispered, still feeling the need to defend Mark

"He's only started hurting me recently..but it's not all the time! Only when I deserve it"

"Quinn..you never, ever deserve this. This isn't your fault. You know that right?"

"It is though. It is my fault. I told him no and it upset him. If I had just been good and listened to him and given him what he wanted, he wouldn't have had to hurt me" she explained, her voice breaking slightly at the end

Logan shook his head and slowly moved a bit closer to her, reaching out to place a hand on her knee.

Quinn flinched and jerked away from his touch, whimpering quietly as she backed up against the corner of the bench. Her eyes widened when she realized what she'd done and in that moment, she was no longer seeing Logan in front of her. In her mind, she was back with Mark, her heart beating rapidly as she started to panic

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I won't do it again, I promise. Please don't hurt me" she pleaded, her words nearly incoherent from the force of her sobs.

The tears and broken desperation in her voice made Logan want to throw up, hold her tight and kill Mark fucking Del Figgalo all at the same time.

"Quinn..hey, it's okay" he said softly, rolling his eyes at how fucking lame he sounded. Nothing about this situation was okay but he didn't know what to do or say. All he knew was that he desperately needed Quinn to stop crying. He didn't think his heart could handle it much longer.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Quinn. I'd never, ever hurt you. You're okay and you're safe. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, okay?" He reassured her, hoping she was listening to him.

Quinn slowly calmed down after a few more minutes as she came back to reality, her face burning with shame and humiliation as she realized the scene she'd just made

"I'm sorry" she whispered, wiping her tears away harshly before wincing at the pain from pressing against her bruises

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. This isn't your fault" he said again. He'd say it as many times as was necessary for her to believe him

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked suddenly, partly to change the subject but mostly because she was genuinely curious

"What do you mean?" He asked, furrowing his brows in confusion

"I mean, usually the only time you talk to me is to make fun of me. So what gives?" She demanded to know, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to face him once again

Now it was Logan's turn to blush and avert his eyes. He knew this wasn't the appropriate time to tell her the truth but he didn't want to lie to her either. He awkwardly picked at a loose thread on his jeans, giving her a small shrug in response

"I just thought you could use a friend tonight" he said as he looked back up at her

"But if you don't want me around, I'll go" he mumbled and stood up from the bench, stopping when he felt her soft hand on his arm

"Don't go. Please"

Logan stared down at her, his skin tingling under her touch. He slowly sat back beside her, closer this time, so close that their thighs were pressed against each other

"I'm here. I'll be here as long as you want me to be" he told her sincerely

Quinn just stared at him for a few moments, completely taken aback by how sweet and gentle Logan was being with her. It was a side to him she'd never seen before, one she didn't even know existed. She gave him a small smile before slowly leaning in closer to him, wrapping her arms around him as she rested her head against his shoulder. She let out a soft sigh when she felt him hug her back and she let her eyes flutter shut.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened?" Logan asked after a few minutes of silence. He felt her nod against his chest but she made no effort to move so he kept holding her, stroking his fingers through her hair

"He raped me" she whispered after a few more minutes. She whimpered softly into Logan's neck, tightening her grip on him as she mentally prepared herself to relive the night's events

"We were in his room, doing homework when he started trying to kiss me and touch me. I told him no, that I wasn't in the mood but that just made him angry. H-he punched me and slapped me a few times and when I tried to fight back, he threw me across the room.." she swallowed back her tears as she told Logan what happened, keeping all of the emotion out of her voice. She had to get through this in one go otherwise she'd never finish

"I hit my head on the wall and it disoriented me. Then he grabbed me and shoved me face down on the bed, forcing me to keep my face in the pillow as he had his way with me. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't do anything but just let him hurt me. Then he just left me there, crying and bleeding" she breathed out and then broke into sobs once more.

Logan didn't think he'd ever been more angry or disgusted in his entire life. All he could think about at the moment was a thousand different ways he could make Mark Del Figgalo die an extremely slow, painful and tortuous death. He didn't understand how someone could have someone as precious and beautiful as Quinn Pensky to call their own and then hurt, degrade and abuse her in such a way. He forced the murder fantasies out of his mind and focused all of his attention on Quinn. He carefully pulled her up into his lap, hoping she wouldn't flinch or pull away from him. He rocked her gently back and forth, pressing soft kisses to the top of her head

"I've got you now, you're safe. You're okay. Everything is okay" he whispered as he traced nonsensical patterns on her back. He knew that nothing was okay and that it wouldn't be for a while but he didn't know what else to say.

He pulled away after a few minutes so he could look down at Quinn, his heart shattering at how broken she looked. He had never seen her look so small or defeated in his life and once again, he was thinking of ways to end Mark's life. He reached out and tenderly wiped her tears away, being careful not to apply too much pressure to her bruises

"Will you let me take you back to my dorm so I can clean you up?" He asked, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. He really hoped she didn't get the wrong idea or think he wanted anything from her other than helping her clean up. He saw her hesitate for only a moment before she nodded, showing the tiniest hint of a smile.

She slowly stood up from his lap, waiting for him to stand up as well before he started to walk in the direction of the boy's dorm. She stumbled slightly after a few steps and she instinctively reached out for Logan, letting out a soft breath of relief when he caught her before she fell

"Are you alright?" He asked, his hands still around her waist to keep her steady

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Just a bit hard to see at night without my glasses on" she murmured, biting down on her lip.

"Where are your glasses? Why aren't you wearing them?"

"Mark broke them. He said I was prettier without them. That I was too geeky with them and he didn't want to date a geek" she shrugged like it didn't bother her

"I mean, he wasn't wrong. I am a geek, everyone says so. Not just Mark"

Logan's murder fantasies were now aimed towards himself. He felt the guilt pooling in his stomach as he thought back to every time he'd ever called her weird, dorky, a geek or a spaz. He'd never hated himself more. He'd spent so much time insulting her because he was scared of his own feelings. He never even stopped to think about what his words could be doing to her. He was such a fucking idiot.

"I'm really sorry, Quinn. For everything. For every mean thing I've ever said or done to you. I don't expect you to forgive me or anything but I am sorry" he told her, hoping she'd at least believe him, even if she couldn't forgive him

"It's okay, Logan. I forgive you" she said simply and it was the truth. His words had hurt her in the past, she couldn't deny that. He had the ability to hurt her more than anyone else, though she refused to admit it. They'd grown closer the last year though, ever since the free-throws incident and she'd long since forgiven and forgotten everything.

Logan gave her a shy but genuine smile and pulled her in for a hug, burying his face in her hair. He just wanted to hold her forever and never let her go. He forced himself to pull away after a few minutes but he kept his arms wrapped tightly around her waist to keep her steady as they walked back to his dorm.

"James and Michael are out tonight so we have the room to ourselves" he said as he opened the door to his room, cringing out how suggestive that sentence came out. He closed and locked the door behind them before gently guiding Quinn over to his bed

"Sit down, get comfortable. I'll be right back" he said, suddenly feeling nervous. He lingered in front of her for a few more seconds before he awkwardly left to get what he needed. He came back to the room after a few minutes with a cloth and an ice pack. He kneeled down in front of Quinn, trying his best to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as he realized how close they were.

"Here. Hold this against your cheek. It'll reduce some of the swelling" he said softly, handing her the ice pack.

"Can you show me where you're bleeding? Are you comfortable with that?" He asked softly, not wanting to push her too far. He saw her tense up but she quickly relaxed as she nodded and slowly pulled her skirt up just enough for him to see the dried blood on her thighs. He swallowed thickly, feeling bile rise in the back of his throat at the sight. He cleared his throat quietly, blinking his eyes rapidly to keep his tears at bay as he tenderly started to clean her up

"You need to keep that on for at least fifteen minutes every hour. And avoid hot baths or showers for a couple of days, okay? It could cause more swelling" he murmured

"How do you know so much about first aid?" She asked curiously as she pressed the ice pack against her cheek, letting out a quiet hiss at the sudden coldness

Logan tensed up at her question, at a loss for words for a moment before he got himself together

"I got hurt a lot as a kid. Guess you could say I was clumsy" he shrugged and flashed her a small smile that didn't fully meet his eyes.

Quinn nodded wordlessly, not taking her eyes off of him. She knew he was lying, that he wasn't really a clumsy child. The look in his eyes and the slight trembling in his hands as he continued to clean her up told her all she needed to know. She wasn't going to pry though. He would tell her when he was ready.

He stood up once she was cleaned up, tossing the cloth into the hamper. He walked over to his dresser and grabbed a pair of boxers, some sweatpants and t-shirt for her to change into

"Here. You can wear these if you want" he told her, handing them to her. He sat down on the bed as she went off to the bathroom to change, taking a moment to try and process everything that had happened over the last hour. He looked up as she slowly walked back over to the bed, now wearing his clothes. He bit down harshly on his lower lip to hide his smile but he couldn't help but let it show a bit. She looked so adorable in his clothes.

She sat back down beside him on the bed, their thighs touching as she rested her head on his shoulder. She turned and buried her face in his neck to hide her shy smile when she felt him press a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Thank you for being here. And for taking care of me tonight" she said quietly

'I want to be here every night and take care of you all the time. I love you, Quinn Pensky' is what Logan wanted to say

"You're welcome" is what he actually said

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked, looking down at her, waiting for her approval before he continued

"Why do you stay with Mark when he treats you this way?"

She wasn't shocked he asked her that. She was shocked that he'd waited this long to ask her. She gave a simple shrug and then sat back up straight

"I don't know" she lied, picking at her fingernails

"I love him. And there were times where I thought he loved me and when he was really good to me. And look at me, Logan..it's not like guys are tripping over themselves to date me. I was lucky to even have Mark"

"You know, for you to be so smart, you can be really fucking stupid" he said before he could stop himself.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked defensively, her voice becoming loud and shrill

"I just mean that any guy would be lucky to date you. Sure, you're weird but you're smart, you're pretty and you're kind of fun" he stumbled over his words a bit, mentally cursing himself over how awkward he sounded. He wanted nothing more than to tell her that she was the most beautiful girl in the world and that she was the only girl that made him weak in the knees, the only girl he'd ever loved. He just couldn't find the courage to say the words.

"Oh. Thank you" she whispered, her eyes widening slightly as she looked up at Logan. Their eyes met and it was like time stopped. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she gazed into his eyes and saw nothing but love shining back at her. She made herself look away, not trusting herself or her self control at the moment.

"I should go" she mumbled, forcing herself to stand up from his bed and walk towards the door even though leaving was the last thing she wanted to do.

Logan hurried to get off of the bed, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste to get to her before she left. He reached out and gently grabbed her arm, turning her around so they were face to face again

"Wait. Please don't leave me. I want you to stay" he said, the 'forever' going unspoken but not unthought. He felt his cheeks turning red at his admission but he didn't care. He was tired of pretending that he didn't need her.

"Please stay with me"

And she did. 


End file.
